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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
Today's generation of the Knyvet family bears a name that was brought to England by the migration wave that was started by the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Knyvet family lived in Kniveton, which is a parish in Derbyshire near Ashbourn. The name is pronounced Nifton.
The surname Knyvet was first found in Derbyshire at Kniveton, a parish, in the hundred of Wirksworth where "the manor of 'Cheniveton,' so called in the Domesday Survey, was from a very early period the property of the Kniveton family. " 1
"The extinct Baronet family descended from Sir Matthew de Knivetone, who flourished in that county temp. Edward I. " 2
The place name literally means "farmstead of a woman called Cengifu," derived from the Old English personal name + "tun." 3 "The manor of 'Merchenestune' [Mercaston] was for many generations the property and seat of a younger branch of the Knivetons, of Bradley, who were seated here as early as the reign of Edward III. William Kniveton was one of the baronets created by James I. on the institution of the order in 1611. " 1
"The incumbent resides in the Hall [of Ashwelthorpe in Norfolk], an ancient residence of the Knyvett family, moated on three sides." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Knyvet research. Another 390 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1290, 1440, 1471, 1480, 1485, 1486, 1500, 1510, 1512, 1515, 1535, 1536, 1539, 1543, 1544, 1549, 1558, 1569, 1579, 1591, 1600, 1605, 1616, 1622, 1649, 1652, 1655, 1671, 1685, 1687, 1689, 1690, 1693 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Knyvet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Knyvet include Knifton, Kniveton, Knyveton, Nifton, Knyvet, Knyveton and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was
In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Knyvets to arrive on North American shores: John Kniveton settled in Virginia in 1738 (he also spelled his name Knifton).